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Thursday, July 01, 2004

PENNDOT TO REPAIR DECK OF FORMER MOOD'S COVERED BRIDGE IN ORDER TO REOPEN BLOOMING GLEN ROAD BY LABOR DAY

Compare the swiftness of the repair of this bridge to the earlier posting.

7/1/04-KING OF PRUSSIA

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PENNDOT) today announced that it will begin work later this month to repair the deck of the former Mood's Covered Bridge in order to reopen Blooming Glen Road in East Rockhill Township, Bucks County by Labor Day.

The historic Mood's Covered Bridge was destroyed by fire on June 22. The state-owned bridge on the township-owned road has been closed to traffic since last January, when the covered bridge sustained severe structural damage when a Browning-Ferris Industries trash truck went through the bridge.

"Following last week's fire, our immediate plan is to repair the deck and make the bridge serviceable for commuters to use by Labor Day," PennDOT District

gives the township and all interested parties the time to work out the bridge's future."

Warren said last week's fire was devastating to the covered part of the bridge, but the fire did not structurally damage the bridge deck. This summer crews will repair and clean the wooden timber deck, pave over the deck with asphalt, and install guide rail along the sides of the structure.

Approximately 2,000 vehicles a day traveled through the Mood's Covered Bridge prior to its closure last January.

The bridge, which was originally built in 1874, is 15 feet wide and 120 feet long. In 1997, PennDOT rehabilitated the covered bridge under a $277,813 project.